The Good News Fairy

 It's Friday, or as my Mother-in-Law says, "Blursday". She has a point, though. Do days really matter anymore? If it weren't for my training calendar, I'd just operate by sunrise to sunset. Before we get into the good news, let's get geeky for a moment. 

Last night, we got to watch the ISS (International Space Station) fly by! There are two things I'm pretty obsessed about: weather and space. It went by so quick and was like the brightest moving star I've ever seen. Would have been cool if Bob and Doug (Dragon Crew) were still on there but alas, I still waved like a weirdo. 

I cycled my life away last week but thankfully, I enjoy riding the bike. I ended up riding the most miles I ever have in a week (110) and my longest ride (30.some odd miles) for what would have been my long run. Some people ask me how I keep my mind occupied while on the bike for that long. Sometimes I watch Amazon Prime Video, which currently I'm on The Mysterious Mrs. Maisel, or I listen to podcasts and music. Otherwise, I'll do a ride with the iFit crew. I completed a series in Boulder with Ryan Petry, a professional mountain biker, and it was a blast. Originally, we were told our bike didn't have bluetooth but I was able to play around and hack it to access the settings menu. It's an Android system on the backend. Now, I have my Trekz Titanium's connected! Normally I wouldn't care but if I ride while my husband is still working, I like to be as quiet as I can so I don't disturb him. He says he doesn't care but it's the least I could do, at least when I don't wake up early to ride before we both start work!

So, as I mentioned in the last entry, I was having knee problems that sidelined my running. I've still been keeping up on my rehab. I just found out my PT practice has an app that they put your plans into to follow. It's super helpful! I just press play and run through the routine. I had my MRI on Tuesday. I wasn't really nervous at all. This was my second MRI I've had (first one was on my hip). I arrived early and checked in, shelled out the x-amount of money, and waited. The staff was super nice! I really appreciate that both as a patient and as someone who has worked in the medical field. They had two separate what seem like mini-waiting rooms, one for women and one for men. I joked with another lady that was in there waiting to get her Mammogram done that it was like we were at the spa but there wasn't champagne. 

The test was quick, maybe about 30 minutes. I listened to Led Zeppelin while the sounds went on around me. I actually find it quite relaxing just laying there. I fell asleep during my first MRI but that one was also at 6:30am. I had the study burned on a disc to take with me just in case I'd have to send it over to my sports physician back in Michigan. He's really the only person I trust. He has diagnosed both of my previous injuries. I didn't expect to get the results so quick but my doctor called a few hours after I arrived home to tell me that there wasn't any sign of damage. Everything looked intact aside from some swelling in my meniscus. While I was relieved I also said to myself, "that was the most expensive test to tell me I'm fine". Really though, as much as we hate to pay money for specific things, I'd rather know I'm good than to carry on into the unknown. While I really wanted to just lace up my shoes and run this week, my coach has me finishing out the rest of my cycling week and we'll start up again Monday. She's the smart one!

The other piece of great news I received really got me jumping for joy. I actually forgot that I had signed up for a Strava challenge at the beginning of July with Sole Sports, a local running store company that was partnered with Hoka One One, the shoes I use. At the end, they were going to randomly pick four winners. Long and behold, I was one of the four after receiving an email. That made my year and saved my wallet. 

I actually wanted to buy the Edge when I was due for shoes recently but the Clifton 6 had went on discount so I couldn't pass up the price tag that was under $100. Living in a pandemic means ballin' on a budget, am I right? The Edge is so light, I was pretty mind blown. They may look a little silly but don't all Hokas? I'll take some funky looking shoes in favor of some serious comfort. Can't wait to test these out next week! Maybe I should go play the lottery if this winning streak will hold strong...